What makes the Olympic Games so special? Knowing that if you do something big your life will change forever. Your name will go down in the history books, people will always remember you. In all of the other competitions that we do – world championships, European championships, grands prix – none gives you that same feeling.

The Olympics is unique. Almost every major sports person on the planet coming together for one event. And it happens only once every four years. You can't get bigger than that. And all these sports stars, from all these different sports, are living in the athletes' village as though they are all equal.

Four years ago at the Beijing Games, I saw Rafa Nadal in the dinner hall of the athletes' village. I love tennis, it is my favourite sport, and as we both speak Spanish we had a nice conversation. He is a superstar but he behaved the same as if he was the world No200, wearing the Spain kit, getting on the bus like everyone else. To him it didn't matter what the facilities were like, he went there to win and that's what he did. For me he was a real inspiration. People like him make the Olympics even more special. There are exceptions of course – some superstars who insist on staying in a hotel – but on the whole it does not matter if you are Roger Federer or an NBA giant, you go through the same experience as everyone else. That is pretty amazing.

When you walk in the village and you see all these celebrities it can be overwhelming for some athletes – it increases the nerves, the pressure. Some athletes can't manage their anxieties. Others are distracted by all of the exciting things going on around them. In the Olympic village everything is catered for. If you need a dentist, it is there. If you want to go nightclubbing, it is there. If you want to eat hamburgers and fries all day and all night, it is there. As an athlete you have to be very careful not to let these things derail you. I know because I have been there.

I may be 39 years old, about to compete in my fifth Olympic Games, but I can relate to the athletes who are about to experience their first Games. I remember being in their position, in Atlanta 1996. I had been doing triple jump for only one year and no one expected me to be there – I had fought for my Olympics place. But all that excitement killed me. I went to the opening ceremony in high heels and spent too many hours on my feet. I wanted to be involved in all the exciting things that were going on. The president of the United States, Bill Clinton, came to the athletes' village and we were all running around trying to meet him. By the time I got to compete in qualifying I was a mess. I injured myself and was carried away on a stretcher. You learn from your mistakes, you have to go through that process. Some people can perform in their first Games but the majority of athletes don't do well.

Getting the balance right is difficult. You cannot afford to be too stressed or too relaxed. In your head you are thinking about wanting to make history but in order to succeed you have to treat it as just another competition. That is hard to do if, as I have, you have been dreaming of winning an Olympic medal since you were a child. In Cuba we are a sports-obsessed nation so I remember being 11 years old and watching the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games on television. Carl Lewis repeated Jesse Owens' feat of 1936 and won four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and the long jump. I didn't have a hero that I looked up to but I already knew that I wanted to achieve something amazing myself.

Regardless of what happens, will this be my last Olympics? After 20 years in the sport I expect this question, but it is not one I can think about now. Thinking too much never helps. My focus is this summer. I can't see beyond that point even if I try. Just let me concentrate on these Games only. I want to be there in London, in the final, on the podium. I want to win the ultimate sporting prize.

Triple jumper's long run

1996 Selected to represent Cuba in Atlanta but pulls out during qualifying due to injury

1999 Wins silver at world championships.

2000 Finishes fourth in Sydney

2001 Moves to Britain but fails to gain citizenship in time for 2004 Games